


The Tea Shop

by LeopardShadow



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Fluff, It's one of Iroh's regulars, POV Outsider, Team Avatar Reunion, Team as Family, in the Jasmine Dragon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:15:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28885953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeopardShadow/pseuds/LeopardShadow
Summary: At first she didn’t believe her eyes. She rubbed them, then pinched herself, this day being a dream still more seemed likely to her than seeing thefreaking Firelordin person.OrOne of Iroh’s regular customers is flabbergasted when Team Avatar themselves show up in the Jasmine Dragon.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 92





	The Tea Shop

**Author's Note:**

> I kept seeing those amazing Tumblr posts about people in universe recognizing Firelord Zuko from the tea shop and so this happened.  
> Hope you enjoy!!

Lana really liked this little tea shop. A friend of hers had sworn up and down that it was the best one in the Earth Kingdom and after her first trip, she felt no need to argue. She once questioned the owner how he made his tea so delicious, and in response he had only smiled and thanked her for the compliment.

Not only was it the best tea she had ever had (or probably will ever have) in her life, but the owner was lovely. Whenever she felt down she often found herself shuffling through the tea shop's doors. She Always left with some strange, but entirely too helpful and perhaps too knowing advice, and a lighter heart. 

Iroh really was a strange old man, as lovely as he was. She had made a game of guessing his past to herself as she sipped her tea, something significant obviously lurking there. Any of her guesses were blown out of the water on one particular visit to the shop.

It had started as any regular visit, with a quick enjoyable conversation with Iroh before she relaxed with her tea and enjoyed sketching in the unique peace the shop offered.

She was just finishing her sketch when she noticed the girl. Lana observed cloudy eyes and bare feet and could almost 𝘴𝘦𝘦 the confidence exuding from her in waves. She couldn’t help but be intrigued by the stranger.

The girl navigated the shop with more ease and rough grace than any of the regular patrons as she made her way over to the owner. A bright grin appeared on Iroh’s face at the sight of her, and the two embraced in a bear hug reminiscent of close family members, a joyful laugh escaping them both.

Lana smiled to herself as they chatted, looking to be catching up with each other.  
A voice echoed in her mind- sounding suspiciously like her mother- and it reminded her that staring was rude so she looked away.

From the corner of her eye, she caught movement and turned to look again just in time to see one of the servers trip over their own feet. Their tray of drinks was sent flying, sending a spray of tea and cups towards the two conversing. She had a warning caught in her throat as the world seemed to move in slow motion. 

Any warning for the two thankfully proved unnecessary. The girl had her back to the server but she still sidestepped the mess easily, no one needing to warn her it was coming. In the same motion the girl left room for Iroh to catch the server from their fall. 

She watched, a little frozen, as Iroh calmed the server down and assured them no harm was done. Eventually, she shook herself out of it and admonished herself again for staring. 

She went back to sketching for a while until she was drawn out of it by a fairly loud argument that only got louder as a girl and boy walked through the shop's entrance. If their clothing and hairstyles were anything to go by, they seemed to be from the Water Tribe. She certainly didn’t see the style in her small portion of Ba Sing Se very often, although she had seen a lot more people from all over the world since the war ended. Travel was now easier and obviously much safer. 

The argument continued and she took a wild guess that these two were siblings, her guess only feeling more reasonable when the boy stuck his tongue out at the girl. 

She watched, her curiosity winning over not wanting to stare, as the two made a beeline for Iroh and the mystery girl, that same easy familiarity in the air between them. The happy, quick smiles of true family, the four now catching up the same way the girl and Iroh had. 

The longer she watched the more she thought she had seen this group somewhere before, she just couldn’t quite put her finger on where… 

That train of thought crashed to a halt when a Kiyoshi warrior swept past her and sidled easily up to the group and the boy’s side. 

_A Kiyoshi Warrior!!_ Her brain screamed at her and she hurriedly smothered the flames of her childhood adoration. She used to beg her mom to read her more stories about Avatar Kiyoshi, used to want to 𝘣𝘦 Avatar Kiyoshi. Her and her warriors were just the coolest thing to the little girl that still lived in Lana.

She didn’t think the day would get any weirder, but she was dead wrong when the next person to show up was the damn _Firelord_. At first she didn’t believe her eyes. She rubbed them, then pinched herself, this day being a dream still more seemed likely to her than seeing the _freaking Firelord_ in person.

But ultimately she couldn’t deny that distinct scar, and she suddenly had more fuel for her ‘What was Iroh’s past’ guessing game, when the Firelord gave the old man the biggest and happiest hug she had ever seen in her life. 

The niggling sensation of recognition had become a full blown itch, and the last puzzle piece clicked into place just as the room went quiet. She turned and, lo and behold, the Avatar himself strolled into the tea shop. 

He seemed so put together and calm, commanding the attention of the room. While at the same time he had a big, childlike grin on his face, that was obviously infectious when she realized her own smile appeared easily. 

The Avatar launched himself into his friends and a giant group hug was the result. Her smile just wouldn’t go away as the group's happiness radiated through the tea shop and its patrons, no one daring to disturb the reunion.

She had never had the honor of seeing the Avatar in person before, but the striking blue tattoos and traditional Airbender clothing in front of her now were unmistakable.

Especially since over the last few years stories, art, and even merchandise (from some overly enthusiastic towns) of the boy had started to spread. She had even heard of one particular town that had uncooked dough in the shape of The Avatar as their staple festival food, as strange as that was.

Suddenly her fingers itched to draw, paint, sculpt, do _anything_ to capture the group in front of her, it truly was a rare sight to see the saviors of the world all in one place. But more than that, there was an untellable beauty of the easy companionship, comfort, and _trust_ between these people that she had just... never seen the likes of.

Before she even knew it, her pencil was gliding across the page as if something had taken control, the lines sure and quick. Eventually she sat back in shock as she stared down at the completed sketch. 

It showed The Avatar laughing and struggling in a headlock as the blind girl drove her fist into the top of his head. The Water Tribe siblings had paired up to tease the Firelord and while there was a glare on his face, his eyes shone with an emotion that betrayed his true amusement. Meanwhile, the Kiyoshi Warrior and Iroh stood slightly back and laughed at the sight.

_Oh, no. I have to show them the sketch now,_ she thought anxiously.

Her mom was the one who taught her to draw and it was her mom’s voice that echoed through her head again now, _'Always ask permission before drawing someone. It's polite.'_

She let out an anxious whine at a frequency only dogs would hear, and started to work herself up to disturbing the group. Finally she squared her shoulders and started her approach only to sag with relief when she noticed Iroh helping a customer at the till. 

Instead of approaching the amazing- but still unbelievably daunting group- she lined up at the till. Iroh smiled at her approach and she returned the gesture instinctually but with a hint of remaining nervousness. 

“Hi again, so I kind of did this and um, if you guys aren’t okay with it I can get rid of it,” she said quickly and held up the sketch for him. She noticed her hands shaking a little and inwardly grimaced. 

Iroh took the sketch gently and appraised it for what was surely only seconds, but it felt like hours to her. She started fidgeting but stopped abruptly when he looked up at her and smiled. 

“May I show everyone?” He asked calmly and gestured to the group, which had now started a game of keep-away with the Water Tribe boy’s boomerang. When the boy finally got his boomerang back, he shot them a betrayed look while holding the boomerang to his chest like it was his child. She held back a laugh and nodded.

Still anxious, she stayed at the till and watched as Iroh talked to Team Avatar, ( _Team Avatar!_ ) and showed them her sketch. She felt unbelievably relieved and happy when their reaction was to grin and give her an excited thumbs up. 

Team Avatar went back to… whatever it was they were doing now, as Iroh approached her again. 

“I was thinking of getting more art for this place, are you willing to sell?” He asked her kindly with a motion at the drawing. 

She nodded vigorously and managed to stutter out, “Please, it's a gift.” He smiled and thanked her, telling her that her tea was on the house today. 

She wouldn’t know now, but tomorrow, she would find the sketch framed neatly in a beautiful bamboo frame and hung proudly along one of the Jasmine Dragon’s walls. 

She exchanged pleasant goodbyes with Iroh and walked back to her table on autopilot.

Her head was still reeling from starstruck wonder when she got back to her table so she decided going home for a nap (really, passing out from excitement and adrenaline) was an excellent idea. After gathering up her things, she shuffled out the doors. 

Once outside, she turned down her usual back alley towards home, only to almost collide with a giant, outlandishly fluffy animal. 

_It's a Sky Bison,_ the nerdier part of her brain whispered. _Duh._

She backed up quickly giving the beast some space and muttering an apology. The Sky Bison stared her down for a moment, seemingly deciding she was safe before turning back to its food and munching away happily. 

She saw more movement and tracked it to the Winged Lemur also happily eating along with the bison and felt the itch to draw again. The two animals definitely made an interesting sight.

Twenty minutes later found her with a finished sketch of the two and a sore back.  
_I've gotta stop using such bad posture._ She thought to herself, before startling when the lemur appeared on her shoulder and seemed to peer down at the sketch. 

She always felt the tiniest bit guilty drawing animals, as she couldn’t ask them permission like her mom had taught her. But this time she could swear the lemur gave her a nod of approval at the sketch, before climbing back on top of the bison. Today was already so strange she decided not to dwell on it, and shook her head to clear it.

Well, she supposed that’s about as close as you’ll ever get to permission from an animal and she stood from her spot on the ground with a satisfied stretch. She carefully made her way around the bison down the alley only to freeze when the beast turned towards her. 

What she got was a lick from a giant tongue and she let out a squeak as the bison roared in her face. She could only really describe the sound as a roar at least, but there didn’t seem to be any aggression radiating from the fluffy beast. Thankfully.

It was still staring at her and she hesitantly reached into her bag, snatching the apple she had tossed in there earlier in the day. She offered the apple and the bison gently took it from her hand, a satisfying crunch sounding out as the apple disappeared into its mouth.

She smiled bright and unrestrained, giving the bison a bow before finally making her way past it and towards her home. She glanced up at the sky and realized belatedly that the sun was setting, casting a beautiful orange glow across the city of Ba Sing Se. She squinted at the sky, hoping to see any appearing stars on her way home to no success. 

Finally making it back to her place she shut the door lightly and sighed in relief at the comfort of home. She cleaned up a bit, before going into her room and hanging up her sketch of the amazing Sky Bison and his intelligent little lemur friend. She appraised it with a soft smile before spinning on her heel and collapsing onto her bed with a content sigh. 

_What a day._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! Kudos and Comments are always appreciated <3
> 
> Also huge shout out to MostlyJustANerd for being the most wonderful beta!!


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